What they can't agree on is which of them is responsible for it.

The release of Safe Work Australia's Comparative Performance Monitoring Report has brought their recent squabble bubbling to the surface, despite its favourable depiction of the ACT.

The number of proactive workplace inspections jumped by 150 per cent according to the quarterly report card, with close to 60,000 fines handed out last year.

The incidence of serious workplace injury claims has dropped from 11.9 per 1000 employees the previous year to 9.6.

The rate of compensation claims is also on the decline in the ACT with six claims last year for every million hours worked.

It's a stark improvement from just three years ago, where an ACT government inquiry found the territory's rate of serious injury on construction sites was nearly double the national average, with one in every 40 workers expected to sustain a serious injury each year.

But the report's release comes two months after the ACT Master Builders Association slammed union safety inspections as malicious.

Tensions have simmered between the groups since the association's in-house legal counsel, John Nikolic, accused the CFMEU of "crying wolf" over safety on construction sites in order to further its own interests, based on evidence aired before the Canberra hearings of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.

Unions ACT secretary Alex White condemned the comments as "offensive" and said safety at work was their "core priority".

He said as a result of all unions – including the CFMEU – stepping up proactive safety inspections, "increased vigilance" has seen the number of workplace incidents drop dramatically.

"The doubling of convictions and the increase in fines is sending a strong message to employers that the 'cowboy' attitude towards safety will not be tolerated," Mr White said.

"Although you get groups like the Master Builders Association saying safety is a myth and it's being misused, the stats and the numbers show that the numbers have decreased as a result of this.

"In the last 12 months the Master Builders Association in particular has been quite unconstructive. John Nikolic and [Master Builders Association ACT] Kirk Coningham made very dismissive, unhelpful comments about workplace safety and the role of unions in safety culture.

"These groups must put aside their ideological opposition to unions and work constructively with us to embed a safety culture."

Mr Coningham dismissed Mr White's remarks as "complete and utter nonsense".

"[This report card is] really encouraging but everyone in the construction industry knows until every person comes home safety every day we've still got a lot more to do," Mr Coningham said.

"We've got to continue with that co-operative endeavour, getting out and talking about safety because everyone on a building site is empowered and responsible for safety outcomes.

"I think it's disappointing that the unions want to have the raised fist approach rather than the handshake approach which is the only approach that delivers results on safety."

Mr Coningham said of 70 companies surveyed by the association, only one said the CFMEU had assisted in improving their on-site safety.

"What I think is disappointing is the militant construction union's war with the bosses, that doesn't allow for the co-operative, trusting endeavour that you need for really good safety results," he said.

"By using safety to leverage commercial interests it erodes the whole message of safety and I think that's really damaging."